Effects of the quality of educational environments on student literacy results based on PISA 2012

This study aims to explore the effect of school environments on student literacy achievement levels in reading among 15-year-old students participating in PISA 2012. The purpose of this study is to determine the variables that significantly affect the quality of education using school principals’ evaluations given in the PISA 2012 questionnaires. The target population of this study consists of 15-year-old students at the time of the assessment from various categories of Turkish schools. The sample of PISA 2012 for Turkey consists of 4,848 students who were randomly chosen from 170 schools across all regions in the country. The results of this study shed light on the effect of: shortages in a schools’ capacity to provide instruction; factors which hinder learning; the extent of parental involvement; teacher morale; and school management. The findings suggest that a number of constituents of these factors have a significant relationship with student literacy achievement of 15 year olds in Turkey.